


Coping Methods

by yasui



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, how do tags work, only the first three charas actually appear but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 20:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1872099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yasui/pseuds/yasui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nijimura is in L.A. meaning no more rainbow babies. Himuro is there though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coping Methods

**Author's Note:**

> I actually didn't like what I've done with this back when I submitted it for BPS' Fashion Week and I'm still not sure if I like it now but it sorta had to be done. This is ~~probably~~ surely terribly OOC since I hadn't had the chance to really internalize the situation and the last time I wrote ~~for KnB~~ was during the OTP battle. 
> 
> This has been edited quite a bit since I've submitted this to BPS so if you've read it there then you might want to read this because the end part is a bit different and I got rid of a few errors I've spotted.

Tatsuya observes that Shuu wears something of a certain color on certain days of the week. He never noticed it at first, but as the days and the weeks pass by, he notes the pattern. He never really asks Shuu about it. Just observes and waits until he is willing to talk about it.

He waits at the court, playing idly with the kids until Shuu arrives. Today is a Monday and so Shuu is wearing a bright yellow shirt.

He smiles brightly at him. “Shuu!” he calls out and Shuu grins back and rushes over.

They play for hours until the hunger pangs get to them and they go out for lunch. They eat at a family restaurant and Shuu orders himself some sort of French onion soup and some fried tofu and when they're done eating, Shuu complains about how hot and heavy he feels. He punches him lightly and teases him about why he got the soup in the first place. Shuu just laughs weakly.

They chat about homework and basketball for a while, walking by a park on their way back and they see a Golden Retriever running around its master. Shuu pauses and chuckles at the sight. “Remember the guy that I was talking about, Kise?”

He nods, looking at the dog's owner and searching for anything that might resemble the boy in question.

“You're looking at the wrong place, Tatsuya. That dog's resemblance with Kise is so uncanny that it's not even funny.”

He stares at the dog as it licks at its owner's face, tail wagging happily as its head gets patted and wonders about the Kise that it supposedly resembles.

-

It is Tuesday and Shuu is wearing a blue cap. He is dribbling the ball at the corner of the court until he sees Tatsuya and grins at him. Tatsuya grins back and charges forward, steals the ball from him and dribbles to the other side of the court.

They unspokenly start a one-on-one. Shuu with his powerful charges and Tatsuya with his beautiful shots.

Players and passers-by alike stop to watch them play in awe.

The game ends in a draw and they're both laughing as they drape their sweaty arms on each other's shoulder.

Shuu is still wiping himself with his fluffy pink towel as they enter McDonald's. They both order a burger and some fries and settle down near the window.

Shuu stares at the cicada on the light post as he comments idly, “Y'know, sometimes I feel real sorry about geniuses. I mean yeah, basketball is what you make of it. Sometimes it's fun. Playing, winning, losing, getting better. But sometimes it's not,” he takes a sip from his coke, bites on his burger and continues, “Basketball is a competitive sport. I guess if you're too good at it, then...”

Tatsuya waits for Shuu to finish his sentence until he starts dabbing his fries onto the ketchup, signaling the end of his line. He stares at the table and sighs, frustration and a tiny bit of acceptance mixed in.

“Yeah but don't you get jealous of them? It's like no matter how much you try, how much you chase after them, you can only keep chasing them, keep staring at their backs as they move higher and higher until you realize that there's this wall between you. A wall that you know you can't ever overcome.”

Shuu stares at his fry for quite some time before he settles on poking it on Tatsuya's cheek. Tatsuya picks up a worm squirming by the window and flings it at him.

-

Tatsuya knows it's Wednesday when Shuu sports on a pair of green wayfarer sunglasses. They're at the beach today because apparently _Summer is about Beaches._

They prepare the mats and the umbrellas as quickly as they can so they can escape being forced to apply suntan lotion on Alex but unfortunately, Alex drags them back and puts them to work.

When they finally escape Alex and the loathing stares of the surrounding male population, they swim and catch crabs and fishes and _a crayfish?_ What was a crayfish doing there?, and Shuu watches as Tatsuya flirts back at the girls who started, for the lack of a better term, pestering them.

Hours later, they decide to escort Alex out of the bar before she drinks herself out of her money. She laughs and whines and tries to kiss them both repeatedly until they pass by a bunch of booths selling souvenirs. She squeals and starts looking for various nicknacks for everyone. They wander around 'til Tatsuya picks up a deck of beach-themed tarot cards and Shuu _hmm_ 's at the description on the back.

“Which reminds me, today's Oha Asa says that cancers are last today.” Shuu states as he goes to the back of the booth and grabs a pack of pink letter sheets.

He walks back to Tatsuya, removes his glasses and puts it on Tatsuya's head. “Scorpios' lucky color today is green and oh, we should get some canned oolong on our way back.”

Tatsuya laughs at him. “Why are you suddenly so interested in Oha Asa?”

He bumps their shoulders together as a reply.

-

Thursday is gray and it is the color of Shuu's pants. They're at the hospital visiting Shuu's dad and his younger sister still keeps on staring at him.

 _You're pretty_ , she says. _You're pretty_ , Shuu mocks and Tatsuya chucks a piece of grape at him. Shuu's brother chokes on his red bean soup when he laughs.

Shuu's family is very nice, that is why when a bunch of gangsters harasses his younger brother on their way to a store, Tatsuya tells Shuu to take his brother back to the hospital before he landed a kick on their leader's gut. Shuu returns within a few minutes and they fight away the rest of the gangsters.

When they're all gone, Shuu flicks Tatsuya's forehead and then fixes his hair for him. “God, Tatsuya can you at least _try_ to settle things without fighting?”

Tatsuya rolls his eyes and tells him what he told him when they first met all those months ago. _Some people don’t listen unless you fight them._

Shuu rolls his eyes as Tatsuya wipes the dust off his cheek. “Whatever, just don't come crying to me when you get your pretty faced all busted.”

Tatsuya just says, “Don't worry, I'm pretty strong.” and punches him in the arm. Shuu's pretty sure he failed at hiding his wince.

-

The sky is as blue as Shuu's shoes when they meet that Friday morning. Today they help Alex teach the children play basketball. Shuu has never been good with children outside of his family but over the months, he's started to think of Alex's students as such. Tatsuya is surprisingly amazing with children and Shuu seriously doubts Tatsuya's claim of being an only child.

Alex smiles and ruffles both of their hair and tells him that Tatsuya's always been good with younger people.

During lunch they take the kids to a park where a traveling magician was said to be performing at. They eat lunch while watching and the bright smiles on the children's faces puts one on their own.

When the magician leaves, Shuu tells the children he has a magic trick of his own. The children cheer for him and so he stands up and gets out of the picnic table and bows. He does a few flashy moves and then steals a few of Tatsuya's side dishes. The children laugh as they watch Shuu get chased by Tatsuya.

They're on the way back when Tatsuya sneakily showers leaves on Shuu's head. “Payback!” he yells as he runs away, leaving Shuu to pull out leaves from his hair.

-

It is Saturday night and they're at Tatsuya's room. Tatsuya's half asleep on his bed while Shuu's sort of reading a novel.

It had been a pretty uneventful day thus far. Basketball, hospital visits, fights. Nothing apart from the usual.

Shuu opens his mouth to speak when his stomach growls. And then Tatsuya's. They laugh about it, slowly standing up and going out the door.

They're at a nearby bakery and Shuu's purple pajama pants blend in with the wallpaper.

Tatsuya's mom vaguely mentioned that they'd gain lots of weight if they eat sweets at night but they go against her advice anyways. The nearest convenience store is a block away and they're both too lazy to walk that far.

They sit at a table and eat their cakes, icing and cream surrounding his mouth when Shuu says, “That thing about gaining more weight when you eat sweets at night has got to be a lie.” He wipes at his mouth, “I mean one of my younger classmen ate sweets and snacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner and he doesn't really gain more weight than usual.”

Tatsuya cringes slightly at the thought. “That's gotta be unhealthy. When I meet that kid I'm making sure he's gonna eat a lot healthier.”

-

Shuu's jacket is a stark contrast to the white hospital walls with its exuberant red. They bring with them pastries from Shuu's mother's favorite store and Shuu's younger siblings happily receive them.

Shuu and his mother go out to pay for bills and buy more food and water. Tatsuya opts to leave too but Shuu's father smiles at him in that kind, fatherly manner that makes Tatsuya stay and exchange stories with him for the next half hour.

Shuu is a good son, Tatsuya reaffirms that belief from what Shuu's father told him.

When Shuu and his mom return, they bring with them food, clothes and a shogi board. They set the clothes and the food on the table while Shuu sets the shogi board on his father's overbed table. “I found this while we were looking for clothes. I don't really know how to play much but I guess I've watched Akashi play more than enough times to know the rules.”

His father traces the pieces' carved characters and turns to Tatsuya. “Tatsuya-kun, do you know how to play Shogi?”

He shakes his head. Shuu's father smiles sadly.

“Oh, I see. Well I guess you can watch us play and when you learn how to, be sure to play a few rounds with me.”

Tatsuya smiles and nods.

They spend the rest of the Sunday chatting and playing shogi. It is warm and peaceful and Tatsuya feels at home.

-

It is after the last day of the Winter Cup when Tatsuya calls Shuu. He's sent him a few letters here and there during the past year but this is the first time he actually calls.

Shuu's voice is groggy when he speaks. It is probably early in the morning in L.A and Tatsuya laughs and apologizes when Shuu starts ranting.

“The Winter Cup is finished. Your rainbow kouhais were as amazing as you've told me but of course, my younger brother is too.” Tatsuya chuckles when Shuu laughs through the phone, saying something among the lines of _brocon_.

“Says the guy who color codes his outfits by the day.” Shuu splutters at that. He laughs again.

“They're all doing fine, by the way. They're a bit different from what you told me but it's for the better. Probably.” The laugh he hears is forced and he reassures Shuu that they're fine.

“Kuroko's team won the WC, by the way. You've always told me that he's the type to stay in the shadows, to play support and let the other guys handle it but he's finally found his own style of playing that's not just for support.”

“Kise still acts like an overly energetic puppy.” Shuu laughs and he smiles at that. “He's a real team player, he won the MVP award. Aomine's apparently been made VC and doesn't skip out on practice much,” Shuu makes an exaggerated gasp and he rolls his eyes. “Anyways, he plays basketball with Taiga on the weekends.”

“How is your brother anyways, and oh, Alex. Her students have been missing her lots.” Shuu asks. He tells them they're fine. That Alex's coming home soon and that he doesn't have to worry about handling the kids anymore. Shuu tells him it's not about that and he tells him to shut up.

“Continuing my report,” Shuu makes a sarcastic laugh. “Midorima is a bit obsessed with fortunes, okay a lot, still. But he's doing real well with his team. They even have this light-and-shadow thing going on. I've made Atsushi have a more balanced diet. He still eats snacks all day but he's a bit more motivated with playing basketball now.”

He pauses for a long while. Listens to Shuu's patient breathing over the phone until he lets out an irate grunt and says, _Well? Get on with your_ report!

He laughs. Shuu always did have a soft spot for all of the Miracles but it's usually more prominent with the more problematic ones.

“Akashi, well, he's dealing with the loss well. They might have lost the cup but he's gained something from it. They all did, actually. Oh, I've told you about how creepy he was, right?” Shuu makes a sound. “I guess he's better now. Heard that he'd tried carrying on without really reconciling with the others but Kuroko and the others didn't go with his bull.”

He reconsiders telling Shuu about Haizaki until Shuu all but forces it out of him. He tells Shuu about what happened with the his match against Kise. Shuu makes a sound of disapproval at that.

Seconds tick by before Shuu speaks again. He hears him smiling as he says, “That's good, glad they're doing great. Well, aside from Haizaki.” Shuu exhales. “I'll be getting back soon so I'll try beating some sense into him.” He laughs a bit there. Strained. “Rainbow kouhais aside, how 'bout you, Tatsuya. You doin' well?”

He lets out a chuckle and it is genuine when he says, “I'm doing great, Shuu. I'm doing great.”

**Author's Note:**

> Nijimura checks the Oha Asa site regularly okay. (Typing Shuu instead of Shuuzou/Nijimura was a struggle for me. I don't even know why I went with it.) The last part was hard for me to write. I initially wrote _Shuu always did have a soft spot for Akashi_ and I kept on editing it over and over but I still ended up writing it thrice. My bias is showing. 
> 
> I feel like writing more NijiHimu brotp things but Himuro is a bit hard for me to do. 
> 
> Also if anyone's been wondering about the colors I've used on each particular day, I've based it on this Thai tradition thing on colors of the week.
> 
>  
> 
> _how do format thing???_


End file.
